Learn How to Be an Unstoppable Entrepreneur with Lori Rosenkopf
Your Working Life with Caroline Dowd-Higgins
Release Date: 06/14/2025
Your Working Life with Caroline Dowd-Higgins
If you can tell a good story, you can persuade someone of something. That’s the premise of strategic storytelling expert Sally Perkins’s new book, From Story to Action. In this episode, Sally and Caroline talk about how neuroscience research shows well-told stories literally sync the brains of listeners with the storyteller—creating shared experiences that drive decisions and inspire action. More from Sally Perkins: Order Sally’s book and read more about her work at More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins: Head to to , check out or .
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In this episode, Caroline interviews Eveline Shen, a social change strategist who teaches leaders how to navigate oppression, adversity, and complex challenges without compromising their values or burning out. In her new book, Choosing to Lead Against the Current: The Courageous Operating System for Changemakers, Shen shares her revolutionary framework for helping leaders cultivate sustainable power, turn setbacks into sources of strength, and redefine success on their own terms. More from Eveline Shen: Order her book and learn more about her work at her website More from Caroline...
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After Steph Wagner experienced financial devastation following an unexpected divorce—despite being financially savvy person—she transformed her pain into purpose, dedicating her career to ensuring other women never feel financially powerless. In her new book, FLY! A Woman's Guide to Financial Freedom and Building a Life You Love, Wagner tackles a sobering reality: 80% of women will manage their finances alone at some point, yet half still defer financial planning to partners. Drawing from both her professional expertise and personal journey, she offers women an empowering, tools-based...
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Kate Lowry is a CEO coach, venture capitalist, and author who has made it her mission to help people not just survive but thrive under toxic leadership. In this episode, Caroline interviews Kate about her new book, Unbreakable: How to Thrive Under Fear-Based Leaders, where Lowry explains why domineering, manipulative leadership is making a troubling comeback—and offers tactical strategies for maintaining your autonomy when working under such leaders. Drawing from her own experience growing up in a hierarchical family and working in high-pressure environments at McKinsey, Meta, and Insight...
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What if the key to sparking real innovation isn't unlimited freedom—but strategic constraints? In this episode, Caroline sits down with Sheri Jacobs, author and innovation strategist, to explore this counterintuitive fact: boundaries don't stifle creativity, they fuel it. In her latest book, The Unexpected Power of Boundaries: Rethinking the Rules, Risks, and Real Drivers of Innovation, Sheri challenges conventional wisdom about creativity and shares practical strategies for making innovation a repeatable habit rather than a lucky accident. Through stories from Pixar to polar expeditions,...
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What if the very thing we've been taught drives success is actually holding us back? In this episode, Caroline sits down with Ruchika T. Malhotra, founder of global inclusion strategy firm Candour and author of the groundbreaking new book UNCOMPETE: Rejecting Competition to Unlock Success. Ruchika challenges one of the workplace's most fundamental assumptions: that competition is necessary for excellence. Drawing on her extensive work with major corporations, insights from business leaders, and cutting-edge research, she makes a compelling case that our obsession with competing is actually...
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In this episode, Caroline interviews Jaime Goff about her new book The Secure Leader: Discover the Hidden Forces that Shape Your Leadership Story - and How To Change Them. Jaime argues that effective modern leadership requires more than mastering techniques—it demands deep self-understanding. Drawing on attachment theory and psychology, Goff shows how leaders' emotional blueprints shape their behaviors and offers a transformative framework for deconstructing and reauthoring their narratives to lead with authenticity and purpose. The book provides practical guidance on integrating emotional...
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When a woman moves into a leadership position at work, she is much more likely to burnout, be depressed and face different criticism than her male colleagues. It's something author Meghan French Dunbar experienced herself, and why she wrote her new book,This Isn't Working: How Working Women Can Overcome Stress, Guilt, and Overload to Find True Success. Meghan interviewed leaders like Eileen Fisher and former Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario to reveal why contemporary business culture disproportionately harms women and causes epidemic levels of burnout. Rather than asking women to "lean in harder,"...
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Muriel Wilkins is a leadership coach, Harvard Business Review podcast host, and author whose new book Leadership Unblocked tackles the unconscious beliefs that prevent leaders from reaching their full potential. Caroline and Muriel talk about the hidden "blockers"—such as "I know I'm right" and "I need to be involved"—that cause common leadership frustrations, and how leaders can recognize when the problem isn't their team or circumstances, but their own mindset. More from Muriel Wilkins: Buy Muriel's book: Follow Muriel on and . More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins: Head to to ,...
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Claude Silver is on a mission to spread the word of human-centered leadership. In her debut book, Be Yourself at Work: The Groundbreaking Power of Showing Up, Standing Out, and Leading from the Heart, she makes a compelling case that authentic presence is today's greatest business superpower. The book offers a practical framework built on emotional optimism, emotional bravery, and emotional efficiency. With real-world stories, actionable exercises, and sample dialogues, Claude provides leaders at every level with the tools to build cultures of belonging where individuality is celebrated...
info_outlineLori Rosenkopf is the Simon and Midge Palley Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. As Vice Dean for Entrepreneurship, she serves as Wharton’s faculty director for Venture Lab, Penn’s home for student entrepreneurs, and also their San Francisco campus. In a prior role as Vice Dean of Wharton’s Undergraduate Division, she introduced a new curriculum and developed experiential classwork in the tech sector. For over thirty years, Rosenkopf has taught entrepreneurship and management of technology to more than 20,000 high schoolers, undergraduates, MBAs, and executives, connecting these learners to many of the most entrepreneurial alumni at Wharton and Penn through treks, panels, and classes.
Rosenkopf was named a Best Undergraduate Professor by Poets and Quants, and has received multiple awards for her teaching, including Wharton’s prestigious David Hauck Award for Distinguished Teaching. Rosenkopf has published more than thirty articles on technological communities and social networks in top management journals, and she is a Fellow of the Academy of Management.
Rosenkopf received her PhD in Management of Organizations from Columbia University, her MS in Operations Research from Stanford University, and her BS in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University. She worked as a systems engineer at AT&T Bell Laboratories and Eastman Kodak between her degrees. Rosenkopf lives in Philadelphia with her partner, Allan, and their dog, Winston.
Book: Unstoppable Entrepreneurs: 7 Paths for Unleashing Successful Startups and Creating Value through Innovation (April 22, 2025)
UNSTOPPABLE ENTREPRENEURS
7 Paths for Unleashing Successful Startups and Creating Value through Innovation
By Lori Rosenkopf
Discover your own path to entrepreneurship and make your mark in the world
In a world where entrepreneurship often seems to be driven by tech prodigies and venture-backed unicorns, many aspiring entrepreneurs find themselves wondering: “What if I don’t fit the stereotype of a Silicon Valley wunderkind? Is there a place for me in this landscape?”
In Unstoppable Entrepreneurs, Lori Rosenkopf, Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship at The Wharton School, shatters these limiting perceptions, revealing a diverse array of entrepreneurial paths that are open to anyone with the drive to create value through innovation. Drawing from her thirty-year career and interactions with more than 20,000 students, Rosenkopf offers a compelling roadmap for entrepreneurial success.
From Amy Errett’s disruption of the hair care industry with Madison Reed to Jarrid Tingle’s mission to diversify venture funding through Harlem Capital, the book showcases a rich tapestry of founders who have carved their own unique paths. These inspiring stories reveal that entrepreneurship is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, but a realm of possibilities limited only by one’s imagination and determination.
In Unstoppable Entrepreneurs, readers will discover:
+ 7 distinct entrepreneurial paths, from disruptors to intrapreneurs;
+ The 6 Rs of entrepreneurial success;
+ Insights for navigating the inevitable setbacks and challenges;
+ Strategies for overcoming biases and obstacles in securing funding and support; and
+ Tools for developing an entrepreneurial mindset, regardless of background or industry.
Entrepreneurs play a crucial role in driving innovation and economic growth. Among them are a special breed of individuals often referred to as "unstoppable entrepreneurs" - individuals with a relentless drive, unwavering determination, and an unshakeable belief in their vision. These unstoppable entrepreneurs are not deterred by challenges but instead see them as opportunities for growth and learning. They possess a unique resilience that propels them forward, even in the face of adversity. Their willingness to take risks, think outside the box, and push boundaries sets them apart in the business world.
Empowering these unstoppable entrepreneurs is essential to shaping the future. By providing them with the resources, support, and network they need, we can catalyze their impact and accelerate their journey towards success. These individuals are the drivers of change, the creators of new opportunities, and the visionaries shaping tomorrow's business landscape.
Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur with a groundbreaking idea, a seasoned business owner looking to scale, or an employee seeking to drive innovation within your organization, this essential read will challenge your assumptions, unleash your entrepreneurial potential, and inspire you to make your mark in the world.